Monday, May 26, 2008

Great Mixer

One of my favorite looks is when plants intertwine, weaving together different colors and textures. One of the best plants for doing this quite naturally is helichrysum petiolare, (licorice plant). It is a perennial that is grown mainly for its foliage. It does best in sun but can handle some shade and it can spread fairly wide. The photo above is from my front garden in San Juan Capistrano where the bright green colored foliage of the 'lime light' licorice plant extends into a patch of brachyscome (swan river daisies).

This shows the more common blue-gray foliage embracing some annual violas with a little ornamental grass trying to get into the picture. this is from the Flying Rabbit Island flower bed in the back yard in San Juan Capistrano.

2 comments:

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

I love the licorice plant. I have a grey one but have not seen the lime light. That is stunning in your garden as well(-:

walk2write said...

If you can grow Helichrysum in any great quantity, you have a virtual gold mine at your fingertips. The essential oil extracted from this plant has extensive therapeutic qualities as well as being useful for the cosmetic and perfume industries.